Milwaukee-based
Rockwell Automation chief financial officer
Nick Gangestad plans to retire from the maker of industrial automation products, the company announced Tuesday.
Rockwell has begun a search for a successor and Gangestad will continue in his role until a new CFO is appointed.
Gangestad has been CFO of Rockwell since March 2021. He was previously CFO of 3M Company.
Rockwell also reported earnings for its second quarter of fiscal 2024 on Tuesday.
Sales decreased 6.6% year-over-year to $2.13 billion. Gross profit margin decreased from 41% to 39.2% and net income dropped from $300 million to $266 million.
"Execution in the second quarter was solid, and we continue to see sequential order improvement. However, there is more excess inventory at our customers, particularly machine builders, than we originally expected. As a result, we are not yet seeing the accelerated order ramp this fiscal year and are reducing our full-year guidance. Despite the lower fiscal year 24 outlook, we are gaining share across many of our most important product lines and in North America, our largest market," said
Blake Moret, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockwell.
The company now expects its full year sales to end down 4% to 6%. Previously, Rockwell projected a sales increase of 0.5% to 6.5%. At the midpoint, the shift represents a decrease in sales of around $770 million and would put sales for the year at $8.61 billion.
Rockwell also cut its outlook for earnings from $11.24 to $12.74 per share down to $8.80 to $9.80.
"The reduced guide for the fiscal year only strengthens our commitment to building a strong foundation for future growth and profitability. We have built an unmatched portfolio with both our traditional offerings and new sources of value. As we couple this with our focus on margin expansion through cost discipline, operational excellence, and organic growth, we will achieve the longer-range targets introduced in November and create significant shareowner value,” Moret said.
